Source: Bruce Perkins

Christmas Excitement – Tyrrells Round 10

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Tyrrells Round 10 Review

Wasps v Gloucester-Hartpury

Gloucester line out goes awry (Photo: Bruce Perkins)

On the shortest day of the year this was a game long on tension and excitement. Two sides studded with international players put on a wonderful display of attacking rugby.

Glos-Pury got away to a flyer. All too soon for Wasps, Kelly Smith added to her wagon-load of tries with another in the left corner. This was just the sort of frailty the hosts are liable to. Though they came back to score minutes later, that opening was a portent.

Claudia Macdonald had a quite outstanding game as she came face to face with her England colleague and rival for the No 9 shirt, Mo Hunt. She exploded off the side of a ruck, beat the initial defence for pace, then swerved past the second line to score a try she won’t forget in a hurry.  5-5   

The captains recognised this as the sort of game where penalties might well count double. Hunt summoned Lleucu George to clock one over from a distance.

It was a surprise to find the half-time score reading only 5-8. There had been so much running from the backs and drives from the packs you might have suspected it to read 25-28.

Wasps win midfield ball (Photo: Bruce Perkins)

Harriet Millar-Mills stayed on until eight minutes into the second half as she continued her onfield rehabilitation. Her side did her proud by seizing the initiative and scoring two tries to take a 17-8 lead. Quite frankly, they should have had the game sewn up by that time. their forwards had overcome early pressure at the set-scrum, and they had shown quite enough skill to walk away with the game.

But they didn’t.

In a thrilling last quarter first Wasps gave away a penalty for what looked like a dangerous tackle – lifting a leg too high? – G-H seized the chance (that’s what the Mo Hunts of this world are for) and they were over.

Photo: Bruce Perkins

Even worse, Wasps gave up possession well up the slope in the opposition half. G-H ran the ball wide to the right where Ellie Underwood slipped her opponent, then ran on thrillingly to beat the cover defence and score under the posts.

Earlier in the season I was rash enough to suggest Wasps were likely to prove the eternal bridesmaids, never quite managing to obtain the results that would see them through to trophy territory. This was confirmed again at Twyford Avenue. They had seven internationals on the pitch, including the splendid Claire Cripps (once better known as Claire Purdy) who was celebrating her 250th appearance for the Swarm. In a coincidence that is probably unique, Hannah Edwards was also marking her 150th appearance. They played some wonderful rugby, but still weren’t able to pull off a victory that seemed well within their grasp.

G-H will be delighted with this result. Zoe Aldcroft admitted afterwards it was one of the hardest she’s experienced this season. Her side deserve great credit for sticking to their guns and coming back from that nine point deficit. The pack certainly looks stronger and more durable than in the last two seasons. That gives their talented backs more time and space to create disquiet in enemy ranks. 

In the reverse contest they scraped home by thee points, so this result sets them up nicely for the New Year.

Result: Wasps 17 Gloucester-Hartpury 22

Other Matches

A defeat by 28 points can’t easily be treated as a success, but Worcester allowed Quins only 38 points as a Christmas present, to confirm their advance under Jo Yapp. Whether that will prove enough for end-of-season safety is another matter.

Their prospects are being bolstered by the sad fall from grace of Bristol. They leaked over half a century to Lightning to complete a half-season they won’t recall with pleasure. They have been hit by a spate of injuries, but then, so have other sides. Reserve strength is an essential ingredient for success. When we see a talented back-row player like Poppy Leitch being drafted into the second row, we have to wonder whether the Bears have been very unlucky, or whether they don’t have the player-resources they would like.

DMP Sharks drove across to meet fellow northerners Firwood Waterloo on a sunny Lancashire coast. Lauren Delaney put the hosts ahead with a wonderful break, but DMP are growing visibly in confidence these days. They walked off with a 17-point victory, a bonus point and a new club record of five wins in a Tyrrells season. This places them sixth in the table, a full six points ahead of the suffering Bears.     

News

This last round before the Christmas break marks the start of the second half of the season.

Perhaps the laurels this weekend should go to Katherine Ritchie, a young referee from Hertfordshire who took control of the game at Surrey Sports Park.

Sean Lynn has been appointed as the new Head Coach of the Gloucester-Hartpury. This will involve him in running Women’s Rugby at Hartpury University and College as well.

The RFU has announced a new squad of 31 players to join the England Under 18 Talent Development Group. Some of them have already appeared in the Tyrrells. Special congratulations to DMP on supplying six players. This pathway is the surest route to a full England call-up. The stats prove it.

The achievements of men’s and women’s teams in the same club can vary quite markedly. Last season, while Loughborough’s men were toiling at the base of their division, their women were jousting for a place in the knock-out final. This year by contrast, Richmond’s men stand equal top of their division while their women languish in the lower depths. It’s just four years since they won yet another Premiership final.

The result of the Big Game last weekend raises the threat of Quins believing in a Saracens hoodoo. They were upset enough after losing a second final at Northampton last season. Their latest failure runs contrary to pure statistics: Before this incomplete tenth round they had scored 82 points more than them and leaked 6 fewer. But those numbers counted for nothing in that dramatic second half.

Results:

Loughborough 55 Bristol 7

Quins 38 Worcester 10

Wasps 17 Gloucester-Hartpury 22

Waterloo 10 DMP 27

Richmond Saracens P (to be rearranged)

It’s a black mark that Richmond were unable to provide a playable pitch after the recent rains. The referee called the game off hours before kick-off time.

Table at the end of 2019 

                                                                                     M           W       L         Pts               

Harlequins                                                                10            9          1           47             

Saracens                                                                     9             9          0          44               

Lightning                                                                   10            7          3          37               

Gloucester H                                                             10            7          3          34              

Wasps .                                                                       10            5          5          25

DMP                                                                            10            5          5          24

Bristol                                                                         10            3          7          18             

Worcester                                                                   10            2         8          10                  

Richmond                                                                    9             1         8           5

Waterloo                                                                    10             1         9            5 

Rosewatch:

With six weeks to go before the 6 Nations kicks off, the following contracted England players were listed to play in Round 10:

Aldcroft

Beckett

Botterman (bench)

Breach

Brown

Cleall P

Cokayne

Daley-Mclean

Dow

Harrison

Hunt

Hunter

Macdonald

McKenna

Packer

Reed (a welcome return)

Riley

Scarratt

Scott E

Smith

Thompson

Not listed:

Bern

Cleall B  correction and apology; two shoes not yet in evidence

Cornborough

Fleetwood

O’Donnell

Scott A

Tuima

Fortunately this second list is shortening